Episode 52
Blogging is not dead with Kara Harms
Kara Harms is the CEO and founder of Whimsy Soul, a lifestyle website with a mission to help empower women to find their everyday magic. She built her 6 figure business on an old futon mattress in an empty apartment after just moving to San Francisco and now manages a team of 7 (and growing!) Tune into this episode to learn about body neutrality, the costs of travel content, and the potent power of blogging.
Episode 52
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Kara Harms
It took me a really long time to let go of the perfect feed and having everything be very polished and branded... So I think that's where a lot of creators still get hung up. I see my peers maybe not being able to let go of the polished ness because…you can't edit a video in the same way you can edit a photo.
[0:1:34] How did you get started with your blog?
In 2014 Kara and her partner, Robin, moved to San Francisco from Wisconsin. Initially wanting to be an art director, Kara ended up working in social media for startups. She really needed a creative outlet so she started documenting her life on Instagram. She was forming this great little community, having awesome conversations with women and meeting other bloggers in the city. By 2017 it became her full time job.
[0:2:50] How did you move from documenting your life to becoming so travel focused?
Kara was part of fashion groups in college, so fashion was initially her focus. She started doing road trips with Robin and realized she loved documenting travel and started to prioritize travel content.
[0:3:58] How did you start creating video?
Kara got her start utilizing youtube, then when IG started facilitating video she would create content on IGTV like wine tastings. She continues to play with storytelling and figures out what works for each platform. These days she makes content for her community, and if they’re happy, she’s happy.
[0:6:52] What did you find different about the Tiktok community vs the IG community?
Kara personally finds her IG community much more supportive. The Tiktok community, she says, tends to be more mean spirited. She gets a lot of backlash on posting about hidden places, with concerns about environmentalism. She has even gotten death threats from sharing about swimming holes.
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Kara Harms
I have been able to use that anger to leverage growing my account because, you know, you can tap into that a little bit if you know it's going to spark an emotional response from haters. You can use that to leverage yourself a little bit.
[0:9:15] How do you hold boundaries for yourself?
Kara claims she is a workaholic and struggles with boundaries. She does have some boundaries in place like an email signature that says she will answer after 72 hours, phone time limits, and an understanding that she cannot get back to every DM. She also puts her computer in a locker at the end of each day when she is done working.
[0:12:09] Why do you blog?
Blogging is the backbone of her business, Kara claims. It is how they make the majority of her money, and how she supports her team. She is making up to $200,000 a year from passive income on blogging. She loves writing, and the blog is a great outlet for her to talk about things she loves. She makes money from ads on her blog.
[0:17:58] Can you give us tips for SEO?
Find good keywords (use a site), invest in workshops, and join facebook groups.
[0:21:37] Do you still work with brands?
In 2019 Kara worked with 72 brands, but in 2021 her company worked with 10. They really lean on the ads instead. She prefers working with long term partners and prioritizing brands she loves.
[0:34:09] What is body neutrality and how does this intertwine with your work?
Kara says body neutrality is like body positivity, but instead of staring at yourself in the mirror saying ‘I love your thighs’ body neutrality is more like, ‘Oh there are my thighs.’ The end goal is to consider your body being a body. She does share her own experience with combating fat phobia with her community online, but urges her community to remember there is more to her than that.
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Kara Harms
